Why Arizona's Lloyd isn’t Concerned After Loss to Kansas
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The Arizona Wildcats have had a target on their back all season, and that target was finally struck earlier this week when they fell to #9 Kansas for their first loss of the season. Kansas has historically been dominant in Big Monday games in the Bill Self era, going 38-0 in such appearances at home.
Now, Arizona sits at 23-1 after their record-setting start to the season. They’ve largely dominated both their non-conference schedule, and Big 12 schedule up to this point.
Despite their mishaps against Kansas, the Wildcats have still proven they are one of the best teams in the entire country thanks to their mix of veteran talent, and standout freshmen such as Brayden Burries, and Koa Peat. In the NIL era, having a team as good as they are, where several freshmen make up the majority of your star talent is an incredibly rare feat that the Wildcats have achieved so far.
They’ve racked up 9 quad 1 victories, 6 quad 2 wins, and have knocked off six ranked opponents this season. They’ve proven they can beat anyone on any given night, and it’s been reflected in their positioning as the #1 team in the AP Poll over the last several weeks.
Their matchup with Kansas was just the start of an absolute gauntlet that the Wildcats will be faced with to end the season. Their remaining schedule is as follows: Home vs. #16 Texas Tech, Home vs. #22 BYU, Away vs. #3 Houston, Away vs. Baylor, Home vs. #9 Kansas, Home vs. #5 Iowa State, and Away vs. Colorado to end the regular season.
Lloyd’s thoughts
The Wildcats know what’s ahead of them won’t be easy, and head coach Tommy Lloyd isn’t letting one loss affect the team’s mindset the rest of the way.
“If a guy is 38-0 on his home court on Big Mondays, it’s probably pretty hard to win here, no matter what our record coming in is,” Lloyd said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game. We’re okay with it. I’m not mad we lost, I can’t wait to get on that plane, get back home, and I feel like our season just started.”
Now that the pressure of going undefeated is gone, the Wildcats will look to finish out the regular season strong as they have all the makings of a dangerous team in March that can win the national championship this season.
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Justin Backer brings a wealth of experience to his role as a college football and basketball general sports reporter On SI. Backer is a proud graduate of Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies, and has worked for such media companies as The Sporting News and the Palm Beach Post.